Individual contributors are rewarded for having answers and sharing their expertise. To succeed as a leader, one must fundamentally change their approach. The job becomes about empowering others by asking insightful questions and actively listening, a diametrically opposed skillset that is difficult to adopt.

To help your team overcome their own performance blockers, shift your coaching from their actions to their thinking. Ask questions like, "What were you thinking that led you to that approach?" This helps them uncover the root belief driving their behavior, enabling more profound and lasting change than simple behavioral correction.

When a team is struggling, a micromanager gives the answer. An effective hands-on leader resists making the decision. Instead, they intervene to teach the team the correct *method* for arriving at the decision, thereby improving the organization's long-term capabilities.

Effective long-term leadership isn't static; it's an 'accordion' that flexes between deep involvement and granting autonomy. This adaptive approach is key for different company seasons, knowing when to lean into details and when to empower the team to make 'foot fault' mistakes and learn.

Effective leadership isn't about one fixed style. It’s about accurately reading a situation and adapting your approach—whether to be directive, empathetic, or demanding. Great leaders know that leading senior executives requires a different approach than managing new graduates.

A common leadership trap is feeling the need to be the smartest person with all the answers. The more leveraged skill is ensuring the organization focuses on solving the right problem. As Einstein noted, defining the question correctly is the majority of the work toward the solution.

Many leaders, particularly in technical fields, mistakenly believe their role is to provide all the answers. This approach disempowers teams and creates a bottleneck. Shifting from advising to coaching unlocks a team's problem-solving potential and allows leaders to scale their impact.

Many leaders focus on having the correct analysis. However, true leadership requires understanding that being right is useless if you can't persuade and influence others. The most successful leaders shift their focus from proving their correctness to finding the most effective way to communicate and achieve their goals.

Use the GROW model (Goal, Reality, Options, Way Forward) to structure coaching conversations. This simple set of question categories helps leaders guide their team members to find their own solutions, fostering independence and critical thinking without the leader needing to provide the answer directly.